


Seals Weren't Much Fun Anyway

by FallOutFromGrace



Series: School's Boring, Let's Fall In Love Instead [2]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, Teacher AU, Teacher Frank Iero, Teacher Gerard Way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallOutFromGrace/pseuds/FallOutFromGrace
Summary: He loved field trips, if they were done properly, planned weeks in advance, and had enough teachers and helpers tagging along. He did not like them when they were put together haphazardly, hardly a day in advance, and roping in whoever was available that day. Unluckily, it had been him.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Series: School's Boring, Let's Fall In Love Instead [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667206
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	Seals Weren't Much Fun Anyway

**Author's Note:**

> A cute snippet requested by Jersey_Cocaine on twitter! I couldn't leave the teacher AU alone, I hope it gives you cavities.

Gerard loved his students. He made sure each and every single kid that graced his classroom knew that he valued and cherished them and would, if needed, fight for them at any time and no matter the cost. The sheer number of teens that carried the weight of the world seemed to increase every year and he refused to add to that stress by letting them retake tests as needed, offering tutoring and extra credit, and getting involved in a few after school activities if he had the time. 

So, really, he wasn’t one to deny a request that involved them. Even if he absolutely hated doing it and it, instead, stressed him out beyond capacity.

Today was one of those days.

He nervously counted each head as they walked past him, groups of three going through the opened double doors and towards the benches. After spending a little longer than they were supposed to at the tropical bird enclosure, he’s finally convinced his class to move on before they missed the seal show. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he felt a migraine coming in and sighed. 

He loved field trips, if they were done properly, planned weeks in advance, and had enough teachers and helpers tagging along. He did not like them when they were put together haphazardly, hardly a day in advance, and roping in whoever was available that day. Unluckily, it had been him. Should he have said no? Probably. It wasn’t an obligation, he could have just as easily stayed behind in an empty classroom, grading tests and maybe sketching out a few more comic book ideas. But they had asked him when his class was in session and, well, who could deny 18 or so pleading faces? Definitely not Gerard. 

He finished counting the last one in, a spacey girl that appeared to have missed the rest of her class, and leaned against the door frame. He was told by the very nice woman who managed the seals that it was about fifteen minutes or so until they had them ready to perform, so it shouldn’t be too bad. It was the last thing they had to do today, after that it was a nice break near the food stands so they could text, run around, take pictures, whatever they wanted. Then it was back to school so they could be picked up and head home.

He rubbed his eyes, already feeling like the light was bothering him when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. He turned to Frank and mustered up the best smile he could all things considered. Frank reached into a messenger bag he’d brought along for the trip and presented him with two tablets. Gerard took them and swallowed them dry, eager to get the headache done and over with.

“You look like you could use a break,” Frank said, He pulled out a bottle of coke and gave it to Gerard, who eagerly unscrewed the cap and took a drink. 

“A break is an understatement. They’ve all been super, but I just hate how they dumped this on us, y’know?”

Frank shrugged, turning to face Gerard again, “I don’t mind. It’s stuffy as hell in that school anyway. The fresh air does them good.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love that they’re having a fun time and if they asked me again I’d say yes again, it’s just...”

“Everyone looks to you to fix their messes, pretty much.”

“Yeah...”

Frank squeezed his shoulder, a friendly gesture that sent a few sparks flying in Gerard’s chest and stomach. They’d met together every morning for coffee and a chat, a time Gerard had grown to treasure very much, and they’d grown closer. Frank would go on and on about music, his guitars, how much he wanted to punch somebody, and Gerard would smile and listen intently, smiling every time he was a bit overexcited and expressed it with his hands. On occasion, he’d sit closer, lower his voice, and their discussion would suddenly feel a little more intimate than either man intended it to be, only to be shocked back to reality by the school bell and the arrival of students. 

He was very happy that he was stuck in this with Frank. He had been trying to think of an excuse to get him out of the classroom and out into the world, but he always came up short. His brother swore he would have been just fine asking him for a coffee, but he couldn’t muster up the courage. This trip wasn’t exactly the date of his dreams, but the little moments they shared really made it for him.

“Tell you what,” Frank broke the silence, smacking him on the back lightly to get his attention, “How about we let the kids have their fun and go and explore ourselves?”

“On our own?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Gerard looked appalled. “We can’t leave them alone, are you crazy?”

“It’ll be fine. The show starts in a few minutes, and they won’t be going anywhere. How’s the aquarium sound?”

“I...well, it sounds great, but what if we get caught?”

Frank raised a questioning eyebrow and promptly dragged him away from the entrance by his wrist. The door slid shut almost silently, and Gerard kept anxiously looking at it. 

“You do realize this time around, we are the teachers, right?”

“I know, but-“

“Who’s going to catch us?”

Thinking he had made a very good point, Gerard allowed Frank to tug him into the aquariums. He opened the door for him and Gerard walked inside. The first room was dark, only a few LED’s scattered over pictures of the different animals that lived in the tanks with small blurbs of information. They’d already passed through here before, but Gerard didn’t get the chance to really appreciate all the work put into it considering he had to keep his eye on the class and make sure nobody attempted to jump over any kind of railing. He had been an anxious mess, biting his fingernails and urging everyone to stay safe. 

Just thinking about it all had made him start to nervously tap his fingers against his thigh again. Frank chuckled and grabbed his hand, softly rubbing his palm. He let go after a few seconds, another exhibit catching his eye. Gerard turned his head to look between his own hand and Frank’s, a small blush forming on his cheeks without his notice. It was something small Frank had started to do, after spending a good number of mornings together, but it still caught him off guard every time. Gerard wasn’t sure with what intentions he did it, considering he seemed to only do it whenever Gerard was under some sort of stress and started to fidget. It never helped and made him even more nervous, but for different reasons. 

“What are you so worried about?” Frank asked, turning away from a turtle that had lazily crawled over the sand. Gerard crossed his arms over his chest, catching up to him. 

“Doing something wrong, I guess. I want to do right by them.”

“You are. You do more than anyone else I’ve ever known.”

“Still, they’re just...they need me.”

“They’ll be fine, they’re just off watching some animals do some cute tricks. I promise you aren’t doing anything wrong.”

Frank gently tugged on his arms until he dropped them to his side. He gave him another soft squeeze and another charming smile before turning to lead the way again. Gerard felt a little shiver crawl up his spine, and he realized then that he couldn’t really deny it anymore. 

He’d grown to appreciate his company, even to look forward to it more than he thought he would. Frank was stubborn, loud, and everything he’d needed to counter how meek he sometimes was. Gerard pushed his anxieties to the side and followed him through the aquarium, smiling when he pointed out his favorite animals and read out loud whatever he could find. 

Checking the time on his phone, he almost very loudly groaned in protest. He didn’t want whatever this was to end, but the show would be over soon and they would have to head back and wrangle them up. 

“Let’s head back before they start calling their parents.”

Frank nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He led the way out, taking the long route of course, and Gerard found himself more relaxed than he had been all day. It looked like whenever he was around Frank, he chilled him out and helped him keep his focus. 

Right outside the aquarium, Gerard grabbed Frank by the wrist before he could head farther. Frank turned, slightly confused, but didn’t make a move to pull his arm away from him. 

“Hey...” Gerard said, unable to look into his eyes, “Can I...kiss you?”

Frank laughed. He slipped his wrist out of Gerard’s hand and instead held it with his own. 

“Fuck yeah, you can. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me for weeks.”

“Oh, shut up, just...”

Throwing a look around, in case anybody was around, Gerard quickly cupped Frank’s face and pressed their lips together. It was small, only a few seconds long, and left his heart beating like mad. He pulled away, his face red as ever, and they smiled at each other. 

Keeping mindful of the time, they pulled away from each other and went off to their students. Gerard tried to shake off the blush from his face, but a few looks from some of the more attentive ones of the group let him know he was still very clearly giddy. He kept looking over at Frank, who seemed to keep it all together and was already having a mock argument with one of the loud-mouthed ones. 

The day had gone off with a success, despite how nauseous Gerard ended it. Kids fed and now tired out, they were all slowly settling themselves back in the bus with wearily smiles and sharing stories. As the last ones finally hopped on, Gerard turned to Frank and swallowed the lump in his throat. 

“Would you maybe be interested in getting some coffee sometime? Together?” He asked, fingers fidgeting at his side again. He felt stupid asking, but he just knew he would have spent the rest of the day beating himself up for it if he didn’t take the chance. 

“We do that every morning,” Frank said, taking a drink from his coke bottle and smirking, “How about we do that tomorrow morning too?”

Gerard frowned, a bit unsure, “Tomorrow’s Saturday, we don’t have school tomorrow-Oh. Oh, you, uh...”

“Yeah,” he said, offering Gerard the last bit of coke in the bottle, “What did you think I was talking about, going to a coffee shop at 7 am?”

“Hey, don’t make fun of me,” Gerard took the bottle and toyed with the cap, twisting it a little, “I just didn’t expect you to say that is all.”

“Is it okay?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s way more than okay.”

Frank covered Gerard’s hand with his own for a small second before heading into the bus himself. He watched him go, a pleasant warm feeling settling in his chest. It felt good. He should have known he felt the same, who spends hours over coffee together just to want to be friends? Rolling his eyes to himself, he climbed onto the bus and let the driver know they could get going, taking a seat near the middle to spend some time with his kids. As they picked up the pace on the road, Gerard spent the time thinking of how Frank took his coffee in the morning. 


End file.
